Actually America is so big that it’s hard to generalize. The melting pot concept is an old one. We are in NYC which is a true mosaic. We thrive on our mult-culture and we often introduce ourselves by the nationality or nationalities of our ancestors even though we all consider ourselves Americans. We share, we blend our cultures but we don’t melt!
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I’m not suggesting that’s indeed the case, just want to point out the paradox of tolerating cultures that have elements of intolerant - at least as I gathered from that introductory statement.
If such things are not legal in Canada, I’m glad.
This is what the Canadian booklet said. You’ll have to raise this with the Canadian Govt 
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Darn those Canadians are acting up again! I wonder what the French booklet says ooh la la!
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Los Angeles is more patchwork quilt than melting pot. We are so sprawled that there are pockets of immigrants that are almost completely practicing the culture of the place they came from. There are many businesses that don’t have any signage in English.
This makes for delicious and authentic eating experiences.
Hi @Rocky1,
If your couple are from the Indian subcontinent, then this sort of thing is actually not uncommon. Indians are very racist. They’re often racist about other Indians. I have to fight tendencies along those lines myself.
The sort of thing your guest said doesn’t strike me as particularly surprising or unusual. You could ask her what she dislikes about other Indians and Pakistanis. Assuming you wanted to continue the conversation, of course.
And racism doesn’t have the kind of stigma in India that it does elsewhere. India has bigger problems than that, so racism tends to get lost in the mix.
Also, what @Astaire said is pretty much on target, I’d say. To be clear, I mean the post starting with
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Aside from climate change; I can’t imagine a bigger problem than racism.
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Lack of potable water, indentured labor, farmers committing suicide en masse, outdoor defecation (India is the world leader), a legal system that is a disaster, a property ownership recording system that is a disaster, politicians who are career criminals. That’s just a random selection off the top of my head.
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The general population don’t always agree with the government. New immigrants are expected to adopt Canadian culture. They must learn either English or French. There are a lot of other things, too. My hubby is from the UK and he became a Canadian about 10 years ago.
But there are always various cultural events and celebrations going on. They are usually open to everyone and we celebrate their culture together - like they are teaching the Canadians about where they originally came from. It’s interesting.
For instance, we have a lot of Asian people on the west coast. They are expected to learn English here and fit into our culture as far as standards for housing, business, education, etc in our country. Our church has about 25% Asians and we celebrate Chinese New Year with them, and they have their own support group for new immigrants, but also get involved in other integrated activities in our church. We also offer ESL classes.
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Yes, that’s true. I see your point. Our literature shouldn’t say that… naughty government!!
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I don’t know anything about India, so I ask this with respect and sincerity - these horrible issues at all connected to racism?
Sorry, I don’t understand your question. Did you mean to write:
Are these issues connected with racism?
If so, I don’t know. That’s a hard question to answer, at least for a non-expert. Maybe some of them are, directly or indirectly. Indentured labor, for example, probably has a racist component.
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Do we know how Bangladeshi people are perceived and treated by Indians and Pakistani? (@faheem???) Maybe that is the reason why this couple wants to move. Maybe they themselves have been victims of “racism”.
I have to go against the stream once more… It’s so easy these days to call someone a racist: Race however is still very different from nationality and/or culture.
We, as a gay couple, would certainly not go live in certain places in Belgium with a certain cultural mix. This is not because I am a racist, it’s not even about race, it’s about culture. In some neighborhoods the predominant culture simply isn’t accepting to gays, and we would totally put ourselves at risk by living there. I can do with every race and skin color, but I don’t need anyone near me who will be hostile towards me for being gay.
Anyway, we don’t know the couples experience with other cultures, and we shouldn’t judge so easily. So NO don’t mention it neither publicly, nor privately. It has absolutely nothing to do with AirBnB.
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Hi @GutHend,
Of course, racism often stems from bad experiences. But still, saying - Eww, do not want - to 1.5 billion people on the basis of some bad experiences is ultimately racism, however derived.
And just to be clear, I wasn’t using the word racism in a judgmental or pejorative way. All humans are racist to some extent or another. It’s part of our animal natures or something. The best we can do is try to guard against it.
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I would add rape and sexual harassment, lack of rights for women, child labour and lack of welfare support and access to free healthcare.
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I don’t see the challenge in leaving a review… Being a AIRB&B host, you get many people from many walks of life with many different views. No need to be intolerant with those you view as intolerant people. They are still customers. It sounded as if they acted quite civil towards you. I’m sad to hear you would’ve kicked them out, that sounds much crazier than their comments. JMHO. I wish there was a way to screen out people we cannot handle to be around but so far, such as filling out a form such as the dating sites do.
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I understand the challenge. I had a guest who was the perfect guest until right before he left. He went on an anti-Muslim diatribe that I found shocking. I tried to point out that there are terrorists who aren’t Muslim. I cited the Norwegian mass shooter. The guest said that the Norwegian mass shooter was not a terrorist because, “He was just killing Muslims, right.” I pointed out that being Muslim doesn’t make it okay to shoot a person and that no, he wasn’t shooting Muslims. I believe that everyone has a right to think whatever they wish. However, I didn’t want to help this guest in any way even as small a way as leaving an honest review saying that he’d stuck to the house rules, cleaned up after himself, communicated efficiently, etc.
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All of those. And extreme poverty, and one of the most awful education systems in the world. See for example the PISA tests, e.g. India backs out of global education test for 15-year-olds | Mumbai News - Times of India
Quote:
Indians were put to test for the first time in the last assessment in 2009. On the global stage, they stood second last among 73 countries, only beating Kyrgyzstan on reading, math and science abilities. India ranked second last among the 73 countries that participated in PISA, conducted to evaluate education systems worldwide by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Secretariat.
See also Programme for International Student Assessment (2000 to 2012) - Wikipedia
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I take it this last comment is meant in jest.
What @faheem is saying above is very key. Our perceptions of problems are relative, the priorities differ based on local circumstances.
So in a place like India or Africa, when there are people who have to walk miles to get drinking water or can’t be sure of their next meal, they’re not going to be thinking of saving the planet!
It’s a tall order to expect in such places recognition of something like climate change - a hugely politicized, largely ideologically driven preoccupation in the West.
Further, it’s spectacularly arrogant of us in the industrialized West to expect India or China to proiritize addressing man-made global warming at the expense of their current industrial progress.
And please, don’t post me links of how true or false global warming is. That’s not my point - I’m only saying that this issue, irrespective of its merits, is not going to be as much a priority as we’d like for a great many people in these places for good reason.
PS: All that said, India of all countries might soon be the key global driver of reversing fossil-fuel-based greenhouse warming on the planet.
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This is an important point.
As far as I understand, discrimination on the basis of skin tone and socio-economic status (which are quite interlinked) is deeply institutionalized in the Indian subcontinent, and perhaps its greatest bane.
Maybe, it’s only surpassed by that their appalling treatment of women, excluded from great many areas of society and social progress.
If anyone is curious about this, I can recommend Dans La Peau d’un Untouchable - an extraordinary undertaking by a French journalist who disguises himself as an Indian untouchable and spends time with them, speaking their language and their customs. I’m not sure there’s an English translation I’m afraid.
And for a more light-hearted but I think still accurate explanation of the system, try this sketch:
(Oh and look out for the punchline right at the end!)
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You mean, in India particularly or worldwide?
So poverty, hunger, inequality between rich and poor, war, infant mortality, disease, crime etc … where do they come?
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